Kathie Wheeler
Kathie was born in 1962 and was raised in the Chicago area. As a young child, she was drawn to the spirit of the French Barbazon, the Hudson River School of Artists and the American Impressionists who took to the fields and woods with their sketchbooks and paints to record the beauty of their surroundings. As a young woman, she studied at the American Academy of Art, where she won the prestigious Union Art League Scholarship Competition, then worked as a freelance commercial artist and portrait artist. Kathie Wheeler is a representational painter who's work is inspired by the people and places in her life. She was born in 1962 and grew up in the Chicago area. As a young child, she was drawn to the spirit of the French Barbazon, the Hudson River School of Artists and the American Impressionists who took to the fields and woods with their sketchbooks and paints to record the beauty of their surroundings. She went on to study her passion at the American Academy of Art where she won the prestigious Union Art League Scholarship Competition, then worked as a freelance commercial artist and portrait artist. Kathie now lives on a small farm with her husband in the beautiful Driftless area of Wisconsin. She is a lifelong student of painting and she loves to pass on her passion to others. She is a signature member of Oil Painters of America, American Impressionist Society and American Women Artists, and an associate member of the Portrait Society of America. Her work hangs in both public and private collections.
“I count myself fortunate to be an artist. My paintings reflect the scenes and people in my daily life and many are begun or painted entirely on location or from life. Painting “en plein air” is filled with both challenges and great pleasure. No day is ever the same. To smell the earth and be surrounded by birdsong is a gift, and when it’s the coldest or wettest of weather I can retreat to the sanctuary of my studio. And so, I join a long history of adventurers who translate the beauty of their surroundings onto canvas with brushes and paint. It gives me great pleasure to share these moments in time with those who live with my paintings in their lives.”
